MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Home is no longer an option. Those are the words of a Russian woman named Lyubov, one of thousands of Russians reported to be fleeing fighting in the Kursk region of western Russia. That is fighting that has been underway now for a week after a surprise attack across the border by Ukraine. Lyubov says she and her family fled after massive shelling last Tuesday, August 6, that they left everything behind, all their belongings, even their pets. She described the experience to the independent Russian news outlet Mediazona, which is where Mika Golubovsky is the English language editor. Mika Golubovsky, welcome back to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.
MIKA GOLUBOVSKY: Hi. Thank you. Thank you for having me.
KELLY: How many people who are fleeing this fighting - how many have you managed to interview? And how are you reaching them?
GOLUBOVSKY: Well, we interviewed five. Our correspondents did an amazing job, I think. They mostly reached out to people via social media by just, you know, pinpointing the people who are actually from this town of Sudzha, which is very near to the border, just over 5 miles from the Russian-Ukrainian border. Some agreed to talk. All of them who agreed to talk actually left the town, although a lot of people were staying at the point when the interviews were...
KELLY: Right.
GOLUBOVSKY: ...Conducted.
KELLY: And you agreed to identify her and the others who told you their stories by first name only. Why? Are they worried about speaking publicly?
GOLUBOVSKY: Yes. Well, you know, in Russia, any kind of truth about the war, about what's happening on the front lines and beyond - it's very risky because you can get prosecuted for, you know, spreading so-called fake news about the Russian army or discrediting the Russian army. And you can just go to jail for many years.
KELLY: Yeah. And I'll just note you are able to speak freely because you are outside Russia.
GOLUBOVSKY: Yes, yes, for quite some time.
KELLY: OK. Tell me more about the stories that they are sharing with you. What do they say is happening?
GOLUBOVSKY: Well, they are describing, you know, complete chaos, massive shelling starting at - in the middle of the night. No one knew what's happening. How long is it going to take? So they did leave most of their belongings behind. They left all their pets behind. And some describe just, you know, a complete disaster in that regard, just, you know, homeless animals left in this relatively large town. And, I mean, there was no official evacuation for days, even when it was obvious that this is a pretty large-scale operation.
KELLY: What are authorities in Russia actually saying about this battle, about what is unfolding?
GOLUBOVSKY: Well, actually, the - probably the biggest piece of news from yesterday, at least, was that the interim governor of the Kursk region actually admitted that 28 Russian settlements are basically under Ukrainian occupation. And 2,000 people live there, and Russian authorities don't know what's happening with these people at all. That's what he said in a meeting with Vladimir Putin. So...
KELLY: How big a deal is that for him to admit this?
GOLUBOVSKY: It sounds like a huge deal. I mean, obviously, Russian propaganda didn't - tried not to notice it, but it sounds like a pretty big deal.
KELLY: To admit that things are not going well.
GOLUBOVSKY: Yeah, yeah.
KELLY: ...On the frontlines. Yeah.
GOLUBOVSKY: Yeah.
KELLY: May I ask - I know you're a journalist. I know you're trained to keep yourself out of the story.
GOLUBOVSKY: Yeah.
KELLY: But how are you feeling about this?
GOLUBOVSKY: Well, you know, war is always a tragedy. It's horrible, but we must also remember, always remember that this has been going on for 2 1/2 years, and there's a name directly connected to this, and that name is Vladimir Putin, who started this horrible war.
KELLY: We've been speaking with Mika Golubovsky, of the Russian media outlet Mediazona. Mika, thank you.
GOLUBOVSKY: Thank you. Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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